First, I take an easy "cruise" down the course. I traverse from one side to the other, familiarizing myself with every feature on the venue— every rock, tree, cliff, and line. Depending on the difficulty of the venue, I might spend half an hour on this run. Then I ski up to where the judges will be sitting. I take my skis off and take in the course from the judges' perspective. The judges are scoring the athletes on five criteria: difficulty of line, aggressiveness, fluidity, control, and technique, pretty much in that order. So the main thing I am looking for here is the most difficult line I can ski without impossible obstacles like 50-meter cliffs or dense trees in my way. Once I have decided where the most difficult line is, I go back up to the top and narrow my inspection down to that section. I am always thinking about what the judges will be seeing...